Credit: Special arrangement
Bengaluru: Students must arm themselves intellectually as populism and authoritarianism will increasingly confront them as everyday realities rather than abstract political ideas, filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee said at the inaugural ceremony of the 10th edition of the MediaCon International Conference and Association fests of the School of Communication and Media Studies (SCMS) at St Joseph’s University on January 23.
Urging young people to prepare for what he described as a “big, bad world”, Banerjee said every minute spent “practising your dreams, flexing your brains, and figuring out what you want to do, and what you don’t” would shape how well they navigate emerging social and political complexities.
The inaugural ceremony was presided over by Vice-Chancellor Rev Dr Victor Lobo, Registrar Dr Wajeed Sayed, SCMS Dean Dr Melwyn Pinto, Head of the Department Dr Marudhu Pandiyan, and coordinators Shabin PK, Dr Rupa Peter, Ajay Chandran, Jenil George and Suhas Srinivas.
The conference, themed around populism and media, examined how digital platforms, legacy media and alternative voices shape political discourse, public opinion and democratic participation in an increasingly polarised global context.